Julie Taymor: Career in pictures
The Broadway production of “The Green Bird” followed, and Taymor proved her talent at commedia dell’arte. The whimsical story follows royal twins who are kidnapped and thrown into a river at birth. After growing up with a butcher’s family, they set out on an adventure to find their roots. Singing apples, moving statues and a talking bird were among Taymor’s challenges. (J.T. MacMillan / For The Times)
Next up, Taymor co-wrote and directed the film “Across the Universe.” The project combined an original script with more than 30 Beatles songs. (Abbot Genser / Revolution Studios)
Taymor returned to Broadway in 2010 with her much-anticipated musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” Despite early hype over the production and music by U2’s Bono and the Edge, bringing Peter Parker and his Spidey persona to the stage proved difficult. The big-budget musical was plagued with problems, the worst being several injured performers. In the end, Taymor was booted from the project. (Jacob Cohl / Associated Press)